August 28 2012

1:30 PM

Nick Watney used a pre-tournament
putting lesson to help him find the winner's circle at The
Barclays.

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR
Academy After a fairly quiet year in 2012, a couple 1-hour
lessons from local pro Darrell Kestner helped Nick Watney get back
in the winner’s circle at The Barclays. Who says you
can’t take golf instruction before a big tournament? Kestner
-- a great player in his own right -- is one the industry’s
most respected teachers so it’s not a surprise to see the
impact he had on Watney’s putting stroke. According to
reports, Watney was getting too much on his heels at address which
would lower the angle of the putter shaft. As a result, the putting
stroke was getting too much in-to-out, making it difficult to match
the putter face at impact. This is a great example of how the setup
can create an environment where the putter head responds in a way
leading to the player having to work harder than needed. The goal
of the putting setup (including the grip) is to create an
environment where the path of the putter head is correct leading to
less stress to match the angle of the putter face at impact. Here
is how this held true with Watney’s adjustments last week:
1.) Weight should be on the center of the feet. One of the
most common errors in the setup is players stand too close to the
ball. As a result, the eyes get over the ball but the weight has to
counter towards the heels. Therefore, many players need to scoot
back away from the ball until they can still get the eyes
relatively over the ball with the weight more centered on the balls
of their feet.2.) Putter shaft needs to be vertical enough at address so
the forearms can be on the same plane as the putter shaft. If the
putter shaft is too low at address then the forearms will be on a
much different plane then the putter shaft. To help ensure this,
make sure you grip the putter more towards the palms with elbows
soft and rolled toward the body. These two setup
alignments are just a couple that can lead to a more natural stroke
and better results on the greens.
Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR
Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more
information on the TOUR Academy,
click here.